Pennsylvania has acquired the dubious distinction of having some of the most stringent homeschool laws in the nation. Although the passage of HB 1013 gave homeschoolers a little more freedom, we still have a host of hoops to jump through. One of the requirements that has been particularly challenging is…
A few years ago we were fortunate enough to belong to a very active homeschool group. Several of the moms were enthusiastic planners and scheduled as many field trips as we could possibly fit into our schedule. It was wonderful! Then life happened. Several families moved away or joined another…
It is commonly expected that students will work hard and memorize the math facts by a certain age. If those pesky facts aren’t mastered at the “right” time, the child is obviously not working hard enough, right? Wrong. Every child learns differently. While one student may easily memorize math facts,…
Math was a painful subject in our family for a year or two. Tears and frustration became all too common–something I had wanted never to happen in our homeschool. Because my children already dreaded math, things only escalated when I had to reteach a concept or require any corrections. Bad…
Art is one subject that often gets overlooked in our homeschool. We faithfully cover all the “essential” subjects–math, language arts, history, science, Bible, and such–but it’s always a challenge to fit in the “extras.” Recently, though, we have been trying out a new art technique: 3D drawing. This unique art…
I grew up in a very budget-conscious household where I learned a lot about wise money management. I’ve tried to pass along that wisdom to my children, as well. However, I never officially studied the vast subject of economics–why prices matter, how free trade benefits the economy, the importance of…
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I have placed very little emphasis on art in our homeschool. Because I’m homeschooling a large family, most of my attention has been focused on the academic essentials–math, reading, and writing–and other required subjects. At the same time, I realize that exposure to creative…
I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but . . . we have never read or studied Shakespeare in our homeschool. At all. The main reason? I somehow got through high school AND three semesters of college without studying Shakespeare, so I felt I didn’t know enough about his works to…
Chemistry. Just the word seems to strike fear in the heart of many students. But what if there were a way to make chemistry less intimidating by introducing basic concepts in a FUN way? Well, there actually is a way to learn basic chemistry concepts without cracking a textbook. And…